Improvement in machines for splitting wood



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WILLIAM L. WILLIAMS, or rNEW YORK, N. Y.

i Letters Patent No. 88,250, dated March 23, 1869; mttedctted lfarch 18,1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN' MACHINES FOR SPLITTING- WOOD.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part f thesame.

To all lwhom fit may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. WILLIAMS, of thev city andState of NewYork, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and usefulImprovement in Machines for Splitting Iiiiidling-llooll;- and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- actdescription of the said invention, reference being had to the annexeddrawing, making part of this specific-ation, wherein- Figure l is a planof said machine;

Figure 2 isa vertical cross-section at the line x x and Figure 3 is asimilar section at the line y y and Figure 4 is an elevation of thesliding bed and feeding-wheel.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

Machines-have heretofore been made for splitting kindling-wood, in whichthe wood is caused to move along through the feeding-trough by means ofchains, but the concussion and the splinters of wood are apt tointerfere with the chain operating satisfactorily.

The nature of my said invention consists in a pair of horizontal-toothedfeeding-wheels, placed at the sides of the trough, and mounted so as toyield to inequalities in the wood that is fed along by them to thecutter, said feed taking place when the cutter is out of the wood. Ialso provide means for adjusting the plate `that holds the wood down asthe cutter rises.

In the drawingw represents the bed of the machine, upon which are placedtwo stationary side pieces, b l), forming a trough for the reception ofthe blocks of wood, placed up endwise within said trough.

Above the bed a is the frame c, carrying the shaft d, with its 'crank eand pitman f, to the sliding headblock g, that carries thecutting-knives h, that: are placed diagonally to the trough a b, as seenin g. 1.

The rot-ation of the shaft d causes the reciprocatiou of the knives h,and in splitting blocks of wood of usual length, it is not necessary forthe knives to come within about two or three inches from the bed a; butif very short blocks were introduced, for making fine kindlingmaterials,the knives would not pass sufficienti y far into the same to split them,aud if the knife itself were raised or lowered, there would be dificultyin the adjustment, and risk of the parts becoming loose.

I therefore make use of a movable bottom, 7:, to the trough, held inplace by ribs at the ends, taking against the end-portions of the bed a,as seen in the detached section, fig. 5.

rlhis movable bottom, k, supports the short pieces of wood, andcausesthe knife to pass suiicientlyuear tothe surface upon which they stand,to insure the splitting.

lIn order to accommodate the varying points at which the upper endsofthe blocks of wood will stand in the trough, according to the lengthof the blocks, I make use of an adjustable plate, t', through slots inwhich, the knives h pass; and

l l are screws, that are -actuated by the gearing m aand cross-shaft o,so as to raise and lower the said plate t uniformly on the two sides, sothat it shall remain parallel with the bed a.

The projecting portions ofthe plate a pass through slots in the frame c,and are guided thereby.

This adjustment may be applied to the frame carrying the rollers, as inmy patent of December 12,1865.

I provide side-bars p above the pieces b l), which sidebars 1) areattached in place by bolts 2 2, at one end of the machine, and near theother end of the machine are standards 3 3, between which, and said barsp, are springs, so that the bars p will yield to undue strain,laterally, that may be caused by the knives passing into the woodandspreading it.

The horizontal feed-wheels gare formed with pointed teeth projectingaround the periphery, and the vertical shafts 4 passl through slidingbeds lr, that are fitted to move at right angles, or nearly so, to thetrough, and these beds are formed with pendent arms fr that carry thecross-shaft s, upon which are the bevel-gears t, taking correspondinggears u upon the shafts-4.

The gears tare fitted with sliding keys, pins, or feathers', so thatthey may move endwise of said shafts, but be turned thereby; and

w is a ratchet-wheel, to which a lever, 5, and pawl, 6, are applied; and

7 is a connecting-rod to a crank-piu on the shaft d.

'The parts are so placed that the wood is fed along by the wheels q, ata time when the knives are above the wood, and said feed-wheels standstill While the knives are splitting thewood.

The feed-wheels pass the wood forward to the cutters with regularity,and yield suiiicientlyv 'to pass through large or closely-packed pieces,or spring up to maintain the hold l,upon smaller or less closelypackedpieces.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Thehorizontal yielding and toothed feedingwheels q, arranged at the. sidesof the feeding-trough, and actuated substantially as specified, to movethe set forth.

2. The side-bars 1;, extending from end to end, or nearly so, of thetrough b, and united by a bolt at the ends, where the wood is entered,and provided with springs near the other ends,'for the purposes and asset forth.

3. The plate, or frame, adjusted by screws, as specied, in combinationwith the feeding-trough and reciprocating cutters, substantially as setforth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my signature, this 12th day ofAugust, 1868.-

W. L. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

OIIAs. H. SMITH, GEO. T. PINCIINEY.

wood along when the knives are above said wood,

